1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a terminal module for a female connector, and in particular to a terminal module having a grounding member that can be connected with another grounding members in series.
2. The Prior Arts
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional connector includes a male conductor 14 and a female conductor. The female connector includes a connector insulator 10 and a plurality of terminal modules 12 inserted into the connector insulator 10. The connector insulator 10 has a plurality of L-shaped grounding terminal openings 10a and signal terminal openings 10b adjacent to the L-shaped grounding terminal openings 10a. The male connector 14 includes a plurality of L-shaped grounding terminal 14a corresponding to the grounding terminal openings 10a and a plurality of post-shaped signal terminals 14b corresponding to the signal terminal openings 10b. When the male connector 14 is engaged with the female connector, the grounding terminals 14a and the signal terminals 14b are inserted into the grounding terminal openings 10a and the signal terminal openings 10b, respectively. Therefore, the grounding terminals 14a and the signal terminals 14b are electrically connected with grounding pins 12c and signal pins 12b of the terminal modules 12, respectively. The terminal module 12 includes an elastic fixing portion 12d and the connector insulator 10 includes a plurality of fixing openings 10c corresponding to the elastic fixing portion 12d. When the terminal module 12 is fitted into the connector insulator 10, the elastic fixing portion 12d is engaged with the fixing opening 10c. Therefore, the terminal module 12 is securely connected with the connector insulator 10.
However, the elastic fixing portion 12d of the terminal module 12 is made of an insulating material. The elastic fixing portion 12d fractures easily especially when the terminal module 12 is fitted into the connector insulator 10. The terminal module 12 includes a metal grounding member 11. However, when the terminal modules 12 are fitted into the connector insulator 10, the grounding members 11 are not electrically connected. Therefore the grounding effect of the conventional terminal module can still be improved.